A Decade of Volume-Of-Solid Immersed Boundary Solvers: Lessons Learnt and the Road Ahead

This review article traces the development of the Volume-Of-Solid immersed boundary method, referred to as VOS-IB, over the last decade. Starting from its simple beginnings inspired by the Volume-Of-Fluid method in multiphase flow, we discuss the evolution of this technique and its extensions for problems in Boussinesq and non-Boussinesq flows, conjugate heat transfer, multi-fluid flows, fluid–structure interactions, and turbulent flows. A critical assessment of the strengths and limitations of the VOS-IB technique is presented and possible directions for future research, both in terms of development of the method and its applications, are outlined.